Code Lyoko: Dark Ambitions
by Goku Skywalker
Summary: The Lyoko Warriors face XANA as usual. But how will they fare when the greatest battles lie within each other, and within themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It was a usual mission to Lyoko. Nothing had changed. XANA was still the threat as always, and the Lyoko warriors were more than prepared. So why did today feel different? Why did today feel off? For Jeremie Belpois, the date signified something. Today was the anniversary of Aelita's materialization. Today was the day that he would finally get up the courage to ask her out. Finally, he would no longer be the laughing stock of the group. At least, he hoped he would. He had finally gotten the courage to virtualize himself onto Lyoko a few short weeks ago. Nothing too special, except for his innate fear of the scanners. For you see, Jeremie had a case of Claustrophobia, and any enclosed space would haunt him to know end. However, Ulrich Stern and Odd Della Robbia, his two best friends in the entire world, had decided to come with him. Jeremie's form had looked something like Aelita's, except for the pink being replaced with blue, and his hair becoming longer and browner than blonde. Puzzling as this was, he didn't mind, as he felt he was finally a full-fledged member of the group.

* * *

It soon came time for the virtualization process. Aelita had started up the process, sending the boys in first as was the custom nowadays. They landed in the middle of the mountain sector, Jeremie standing up as Ulrich drew his sword. Odd looked around, reading his laser arrows for fire. "All things look clear. Alright girls! Come on down!" Jeremie said, reaching Aelita through the headset.

Aelita smiled as Yumi walked the elevator. "Roger that, I'm starting up the delayed virtualization program." Her fingers typed away on the supercomputer as windows cropped up, revealing hers and Yumi's data card. Pressing enter, she hopped out of the command chair and walked towards the elevator. She had gotten used to the usual jerks that the old conveyer system had given, making her feel more alive than she ever had on Lyoko. "Ready Yumi?"

Yumi smirked at the pink haired AI, "Of course." She said as the scanner doors closed on them. Soon they were beside the three men in the middle of the mountain sector. "Well, shall we get going?" Yumi asked as she pointed towards the edge of the sector.

Ulrich and Odd smirked. "Let's go" Ulrich said as he led the others.

Jeremie ran with Aelita, still getting used to the idea of running not actually tiring him out, as there were no muscles to exercise. His body was in prime physical condition, save for his biceps. "Hey, Aelita… May I ask you something?" He asked as the pink haired hair girl looked in his direction.

"Certainly Jeremie, what's on your mind?" Aelita asked as they slowed to a stop.

Jeremie started to cough, becoming more embarrassed as they stopped at the edge of the sector. "Uh… it can wait." He stammered as he rubbed the back of his head.

Aelita giggled at the boy who had managed to materialize her. Humans were still an enigma to her, and she could tell that Jeremie would be an enigma that she wanted to figure out for herself. Something about him just spoke to her, and she would find out what it was, even if she didn't fully understand human emotions.

Odd coughed, trying to get the two lovebirds to snap out of their trance. "Excuse us, you two. But we'd like to get to Sector 5 if you don't mind."

Yumi and Ulrich nodded in agreement. Jeremie sighed and linked with the supercomputer, opening the program that contained the file for the transporter. _Come on… SCIPIO_. And with his mental link broken, the transporter came into view as the team huddled around one another. Soon the transporter took off, flying and following the cables that connected the mountain sector to the heart of Lyoko. Combing through the bits of data that made up the wall around the sector, the Death Star like Celestial Dome came into view. The transporter flew in through the entrance, snaking through the passage ways and finally coming to a stop in the Arena. Spinning for a few more seconds, it stopped so it could deposit the Lyoko Warriors before disappearing.

"Alright, we all know the objective by now. Find the key to disable the countdown." Ulrich said as he prepared for his super sprint.

The wall opened and all five members started to run towards the Core Zone. Doors flew open as they continued their trek, wondering what puzzles awaited them this go around. "I give 5 euros that XANA has some new monster that he's just dying to introduce to us." Odd chuckled, hovering next to Yumi.

"You do realize you just jinxed us, right?" Yumi asked rhetorically as they approached the main hall of the Core Zone. Sure enough, a new form of creeper was there waiting for them. Decked out in plated armor, with a scope attached to its Eye of XANA, it looked mean, vicious, and was ready to pounce. "Damnit Odd!" Yumi cursed as she readied her fans. Aelita stuck behind the others to cover herself, as she had no offensive power or weaponry to speak of. Ulrich readied his saber, preparing to block the incoming blaster bolts. Jeremie simply stayed still, waiting for the moment to unveil his power.

The creeper had enough of the waiting game, and quickly shot an assortment of laser fire in the general direction. Ulrich tried his best to block the bolts, but this new creeper had somewhat of a machine gun mount instead of the traditional laser attachment. Ulrich saw his blade knocked away from his hands and he quickly braced himself for the worst. This was when he noticed that nothing had happened. Instead, a wall of energy was laced around them. Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich and Odd looked towards Jeremie, who held his hands up, projecting a shield around his friends.

His look started to strain. "Yeah, this isn't for the faint of heart guys, I can't keep this up long… Yumi, get ready to hold off that creeper!" he ordered as she got in a defensive position.

"Copy that!"

And with that, the shield had been lifted and Yumi quickly started to absorb laser fire from the creeper. Ulrich saw an opportunity to retrieve his sword and ran for it. The creeper noticed this however and shifted his attention. Instead of firing the regular laser bolts, the creeper's scope attachment zoomed in and out, as if he was waiting for the most opportune moment to fire. What came out of its mouth was not the traditional laser fire, but a blast struck Ulrich straight in the back. He fell and writhed in agony. Pain being felt everywhere in his body, he didn't even notice that his once yellow tunic had been replaced with black and grey. His hand band soon matched.

Odd looked horrified, and quickly leapt up into the air, going to claw the creeper in the throat. "This is for Ulrich you monster!" He yelled as he prepared his claws. However, the creeper was more than prepared and shot Odd with the same blast. He flew backwards and landed right on his back, contorting his body as the same color change happened to his outfit. Gone was the purple and yellow, replaced with black and grey. His skin even became more pale than usual.

Aelita quickly sat up and tried to use her creativity on the beast. Jeremie slapped her hand away. "No Aelita, it won't work. That armor needs a blade to penetrate it." He looked around and noticed Ulrich still had not picked up his weapon. _Sorry about this Ulrich_, he through to himself as he ran towards the discarded sword. "Alright you freak, show time." Jeremie said, noticing that he sounded out of character. He charged with a fury that was unheard of. However, even his strong-willed attempt had been anticipated, as the creeper shot him point blank in the chest. "Darn it all…" He spewed out as he dropped to the floor. Just as Odd and Ulrich, Jeremie shook uncontrollably as his blue tunic turned jet black, with the white parts turning black grey and his blue moccasins turning jet black as well.

Yumi had enough of the freak show, and decided it was time to end the monstrosity that had crippled her friends. "Alright, play time is over." She took out her double fans and quickly threw them towards the Creeper's neck. Instantly it was vaporized into the disgusting sludge that had made up its composition. "There's the key! I'll be after it, you check on the others." Yumi ordered Aelita as she started to run towards the blocks that made upstairs for the key. Just as she had started climbing the stairs, the key was activated, and the walls of the Core Zone changed. No more countdown meant more exploration, and it was an exciting time, for all five members could finally be together to journey through this marvel. That is, if they survived what the creeper had done to them.

The boys finally stopped writhing in pain and stood up slowly. Jeremie was helped by Aelita while Ulrich and Odd pushed themselves off the ground. "How do you feel Jeremie?" Aelita asked, worried of what the change in color meant for the boy she had grown fond of.

Jeremie shook his head, something felt different. He felt, stronger, and more capable than before. "I feel… great. Almost like nothing happened." He said as he looked towards her. "In fact, I think I could go for this!" He picked her up in his two arms and swung her around. He laughed as he was finally letting go of his fear and shyness. Aelita would go out with him, for he knew it was bound to happen. Aelita started to giggle as Jeremie spun her around.

"Jeremie stop, we have to go collect more data." She finally said, still giggling from the event that Jeremie had put her through. He reluctantly put her down and went to check on the other two male warriors. "You guys alright?" He asked, extending his hand.

Ulrich grabbed it and felt a rush of power flow through his body. "I think I'm experiencing something similar to you, Jeremie." He paused. "I feel powerful, and stronger." He grabbed his saber, sheathing it as he joined Yumi. "Worried about me?" He winked at her with a smirk.

"Ulrich Stern, where do you get off doing that?" She laughed as she looked at his headband. Even that piece of his clothing had turned black.

Odd finally got up and shook himself. "Alright, anyone want to tell me what the hell just happened?" He cursed as he joined up with the others. He began scratching his head, waiting for an explanation.

Aelita broke the silence. "Come on guys, we can examine this later. Right now, we have to get to the elevator and get to the Celestial Dome." She started running when she noticed that the three boys all out paced her and Yumi. She looked dumbfounded, wondering why they were left in the dust.

"Okay… moody much?" Yumi said to herself as she and Aelita ran through the doorway leading to the elevator.

Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich all stood by, waiting for the girls to show up. "Did it just bother anyone that we ran at super speed?" Jeremie asked his friends, picking his finger nails.

"Now that you mention it, where are those girls?" Odd asked, looking back in the direction from where they came. What seemed like an eternity only happened to be about 10 seconds before the girls caught up with the boys.

Aelita looked at Jeremie, who looked coolly back at her. "Jeremie, when did you get super speed?"

"I don't know, must have been one of my dormant powers."

Aelita shook her head. That wasn't a dormant power. He would know instantly of what abilities he had on Lyoko. This whole mess was confusing, though she hoped it would solve itself when they reached the Celestial Dome.

Yumi and Ulrich rode on one side of the elevator, waiting for it to stop. When it did, the three boys once again had the urge to sprint the short distance. Yumi remained dumbfounded. "Alright guys, enough showboating. Let Aelita access the terminal so we can get out of here."

Ulrich stood watch, waiting for the Flying Mantas to hatch. "Come on, you ugly beats. I'll show you what for." He whispered to himself.

Aelita accessed the terminal, downloading new restricted data that had not been previously accessible. Looking up files for new monster types, she quickly forwarded the packet up to the Supercomputer, knowing that the data would need to be decrypted as soon as it arrived. "Alright, this was a short trip, but I've found some new monster files and what XANA seems to be planning. Let's head out!" She ordered in a bellicose voice, shaking the entire area.

Jeremie looked at her scornfully. "You want to wake the Manatas up?!" He chastised as he logged into the supercomputer to pull up the vehicles. Just as he did, the Mantas hatched and began patrolling around the Dome, looking for the warriors. "As if on cue…" He and Aelita jumped on the OverCar, a two seated variant of a dune buggy. Engaging the hydraulics, the wheels popped up and began to fly just as the OverWing, OverBike, and OverBoard all before it.

Yumi blocked several incoming shots with her fans, hoping to deter the Mantas away from the tunnel they were going to. "You'd think by now they would have caught on to our strategy."

Odd shot the Manta that tailed him point blank. "I hate being tailgated you overgrown sack of lard!" He yelled at his dead target. The tunnel opened and deposited our heroes back towards the mountain sector.

Aelita hopped out of the OverCar and ran into the tower as her materialization process started up. The others all dematerialized, signaling that the mission was a success.

…Or had it been…

* * *

Aelita Stones

Jeremie Belpois

Ulrich Stern

Yumi Ishiyama

Odd Della Robbia

Sasha Harrison

Code Lyoko: Dark Ambitions.


	2. Chapter 2

All seemed well. The materialization process succeeded without hiccup, and all five members were returned to Earth. The three males had nothing wrong in appearance, and they seemed to just want to continue with their day. Aelita however, pressed that a diagnostic scan be performed. Data decryption would also need to be accomplished in order to understand the new information that they had gained from Sector 5.

"Come on Jeremie, it will only take but a minute." She pleaded with him to go back in the scanner. Any shot that XANA could have infected him was something she would not take. She had to make sure that the blond-haired boy would be alright.

Jeremie shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the golden yellow wall that laid out the scanner room. "Aelita, you're worrying over nothing. Ulrich, Odd and I are just fine." He got up and started doing pushups to prove just how great he felt. Only this was the wrong thing to do. Jeremie had never been physically active, and the only thing close he had felt to P.E. was the typing of his keyboard.

Aelita and Yumi grabbed him by the arms. "That's it, you're getting you butt back in the scanner, you hear?!" Yumi ordered as she lifted her friend and leader. Propping him in the scanner, she stood in his way to make sure he didn't try to escape while Aelita rode the elevator back up the control room.

"Guys, this is ridiculous. I feel fine!" Jeremie whined as the scanner started to power up. Just then, the doors closed, and he shut his eyes, the wind nipping at his cheeks while his hair started to fly upward.

Ulrich and Odd soon joined him in the scanners, not wanting to take a chance with Yumi manhandling them like 3-year-olds. "Just deal with it. It'll be over in a minute." Ulrich said to himself as his scanner repeated the process. He hadn't felt this frustrated in many years, and he had no idea why. All he wanted to do right now was tell Yumi how he felt. _Wait, why in the world? Actually confess my feelings to Yumi? I must be going crazy._ The scanner powered down and he exited along with Jeremie and Odd. Yumi had this smug look all over her face.

"See? Was that so bad?" She said smugly as they walked towards the elevator. Lifting to the control room, the four warriors walked in to find Aelita sitting at the control chair, typing away at the Supercomputer. "Anything to report, Aelita?"

The three boys gathered together and as if on cue, leaned back against the green wall and crossed their arms, annoyed at the whole situation. "Can we hurry this up? I have an appointment with the lunch room and being late will cost me an hour's worth of food" Odd chimed in.

Aelita looked at the screen, puzzled over what her tests indicated. "From what I'm gathering, nothing is wrong with you three. The diagnostic shows nothing wrong with your individual cells, or pixels as you humans refer to them." She continued to scroll through data, trying to find any thing that seemed out of the ordinary. "Brain waves are fine, nothing wrong with the individual code segments… I guess whatever happened ended with the materialization."

Ulrich sighed at the revelation. "See, I knew there was nothing wrong. Now come on Yumi, lets go to the park." He walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "I've got something really important to tell you." He gave flashy smirk as he pulled her to the elevator. Pressing the up button, he didn't even give her a chance to acknowledge her own surprise at how forward he was being. This wasn't like the Ulrich Yumi had known. He was normally very closed about his feelings or even hanging out in general.

"Ulrich, what has gotten into you?" She asked, concern written on her face.

Ulrich chuckled at her worried tone. "Oh Yumi, I'm alright. I just realized that I've been a real jerk to you and our friends, but now I aim to make it up to you. That's why I want you to come to the park with me." He trailed on, not noticing Yumi's cheeks flushing red with intensity. "I guess you could say, I really like you." He winked at the last word.

Yumi's legs turned to jelly. Those words are what she wanted to hear for so long, and finally her ears were graced with their sound. She felt like she would turn to sludge if Ulrich hadn't caught her in his arms. "Don't go throwin' yourself down on the ground now. Is that any way for a lady to respond to a 'gentlemen's' statement?" He picked her up and brushed her hair to the side. "You know, you're cute when your embarrassed." He smiled as the elevator shook to a stop, opening to the factory floor. The two warriors walked out to the floor and climbed up the ropes that let toward the bridge. Whatever happened to Ulrich on Lyoko, it was clear something had changed his personality. They didn't even notice that his socks had become jet black.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the control room, Odd had already left his friends to head back to school. Jeremie approached Aelita, strutting up to the command chair. "You know, you're sitting in my chair." He began, looking over her features. Suddenly, his vision became blurred. Why were his glasses not working? Had he finally outgrown his blindness? Why suddenly now? _No ignoring it now, I guess._ He took off his glasses and placed them on the Supercomputer. "What are we gonna do about this?" His sly smirk was met with redness in Aelita's cheeks. Did she understand what he wanted? Or is this another one of her naïve characteristics? "If I may, do you remember that I had something ask you?" He asked Aelita, moving behind her and putting his arms on the command chair.

Aelita's cheeks burned. The blood rushing to them had not stopped as Jeremie kept up his smooth way of talking to her. Her attraction to the boy that had brought her to Earth kept growing. He took his glasses off, making her wonder why he had? Did humans where those devices as accessories? "I do remember. What was it you wanted to ask me?" She moved her fingers across the arm rests, feeling uncomfortable but at the same time hopeful. She wanted to spend more time with the blond-haired boy, and maybe this was what she needed.

Jeremie looked at her, smirking on one side. "You know… there is a new Star Wars movie out. I think it's Revenge of the Sith." He said, waiting for her response.

Aelita looked at him quizzically. "Jeremie, what is this Star Wars? I've never heard of it or seen it when I scoured the internet through the towers." She thought that she had broken him when his face started to twitch. He kept twitching over and over until he finally shook his head.

"You're kidding right? How have you not even heard of the greatest Science Fiction franchise ever created?" His voice started to crack. "Aelita… if we're going to continue our relationship, we have to watch the franchise together." He looked up at the ceiling as the holographic projection of Lyoko shut down. He was surprised by his words, realizing he thought of what he and Aelita shared meant more to him than just friendship. This cause his cheeks to return the blush that the pink-haired AI had given him.

Aelita perked up at the comment of having a relationship with Jeremie, "What are you saying, Jeremie? Are we… dating?" She had so many emotions running through her head. Curse her human brain for not having the calculating power of the Supercomputer. She looked up to see his smiling face looking down at her. Apparently in addition to his new demeanor, he had also grown a few inches. Course, this could also be just from her sitting in the command chair for so long. "Well? I'm waiting for an answer, mister." She folded her arms, ruffling up her pink sleeves as her hand graced the buckles of her maroon overall skirt.

Jeremie chuckled at her reaction. "If that is what you want. For I can tell you it is what I desire, and I'm not about to let this opportunity pass me by." His eloquence didn't go unnoticed, however he decided to keep talking as to finally ask her to the movies. "Aelita, would you come with me to see Star Wars Episode III?" He asked, extending his hand.

Aelita looked down at her now boyfriend. She was going to have a field day with processing these new thoughts and feelings. "Of course! I would like nothing else!" She leapt out of the chair and hugged him, her legs sticking up in the air. Jeremie ruffled through her hair, opening his eyes to look at the Supercomputer. Finally, his one dream had come to fruition. If only he had noticed the black speck that was on the bottom of his shoes.

* * *

Odd finally made his way back to the cafeteria, hoping that Rosa the lunch lady still had a tray left for him to satisfy his hunger. Why did missions to Lyoko always have to happen around the time that lunch or dinner was going on? Couldn't XANA see that eating was more important than anything?! But Odd shrugged as he trod on through the mass of people, landing a spot in line. He bumped into this brunette girl ahead of him. "Oh, sorry about that. Guess I didn't see you there." He said as she turned to face him. What he saw sent his mind into orbit, if it wasn't there already to begin with.

She had a brown blouse that matched her hair color, met with dark blue jeans and brown boots that were tucked under the jeans. "It's quite alright, it didn't hurt me," The girl replied "Though I wonder, why were you in such a hurry? It's spaghetti and meatballs."

Odd's face brightened when he heard those words. "That's my all-time favorite dish! Rosa knew how to make the Odd train come rollin' in!" He started to pump his fists in the air, almost like a victory dance. He kept this up until he noticed that the girl had moved forward and that meant it was time for him to do so as well. "I'm Odd Della Robbia, and who might I have the pleasure of having this fine conversation with?"

The girl looked at him and smiled. "My name is Sasha Harrison. I'm actually a relative of George Harrison," She stopped as soon as she saw Odd's jaw drop. She knew what was coming.

"The George Harrison? Of the Beatles?!"

"The very same, Odd."

Odd still looked perplexed. No way was this girl a relative of the late George Harrison. "I mean as in John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and… George Harrison?!"

The girl giggled, never had she met someone who was so into The Beatles that they looked at her with disbelief. "Yup, I'm his… great niece from his sisters' side." She moved forward in the line as Odd joined next to her. "He didn't really talk much to my grandma after The Beatles broke up apparently, so I don't have any inside tips for you in terms of making it big on the music business." Sasha received her meatballs and spaghetti and pointed to the table where should be sitting at.

Odd came in front of Rosa, hoping for a big serving of food. When Rosa failed to deliver, her explanation was more than good enough. "Sorry Odd, I have to keep up with all the others that are coming in late. I can't make any exceptions." Normally, this would have driven Odd to complete madness, not getting enough food. _What?! I've done more for these people and they can't even set aside another small piece of food?!" _But his mind trailed off to Sasha. He didn't even pay Rosa any attention as he moved towards the table where Sasha was sitting.

"Sorry about that, took a little longer than I thought." He said as he sat down, digging into his spaghetti.

Sasha shook her head. "Once again, it's quite alright. You need to stop apologizing so much. I imagine people just walk all over you." She said as she took a bite of her meatball. The taste wasn't quite what she expected. "Blech! I need to give Rosa a piece of my mind, and my recipe for meatballs."

Odd looked up, dropping his fork. "You mean, besides being related to one of the greatest musicians, you can also cook?!"

"Yes Odd, I'll have you know I can do a lot of things. Cook, video games, sing, you name it."

"Oh, what did I do to deserve this girl" Odd whispered to himself as he took another bite of spaghetti. Its as if after the creeper had hit him, things were finally going his way. He didn't even bother to notice the black sludge on the bottom of his pants.


	3. Chapter 3

Ulrich sat down on the bench next to Yumi. He looked at her with interest as she blushed. The Japanese girl's feelings had been hidden to him. Were they friends? More than friends? Today would finally answer these questions, and hopefully put to rest any anxiety the two friends had developed over the years. Ulrich leaned closer to Yumi, "So, Yumi… I have a question." He started, not stuttering for even a moment. "You want to go catch a movie, or maybe go camping over a long weekend?" Ulrich asked, slyly placing his right hand over her shoulder, Yumi not taking notice.

Yumi smiled brightly. Those were the questions that she had been wanting to hear since she had met Ulrich. "Of course I will you dummy. What took you so long?!" She smacked his cheek playfully, eliciting a chuckle from him. "What shall we do though? If you want to go camping, I think we have a long weekend coming up tomorrow after class." She thought of the calendar her parents had given her, hoping that she would be free for the trip if Ulrich had decided to take it.

"Camping it is then. I'll make sure I have my gear packed. Though I do hope we can… share a tent…" He winked at his now girlfriend. Smirking seemed to become his trademark, as he felt confidence enter his system like it had never done before. He then took a breath of fresh air, hoping this was real life and not just a terrible dream that had come over him. Yumi pinched him to get his attention, yelping at the response.

"Yoo-hoo? Anyone home?" Yumi asked, waving her hand around his face. She flinched at how quickly his hand snapped up and caught hers. "Okay… I'll stop doing that." She said, sounding annoyed at the movement Ulrich had given her. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting strange since our mission to Lyoko." She looked at him, noticing his head turning to look away.

Ulrich sighed at this. Couldn't she see that he was alright? "Yumi… if any of you ask me that one more time, I will get up and walk away. I am just fine." Ulrich started to sound more annoyed than he had been previously. "I'm just excited that you actually said yes to my request of asking you out. Now can you please drop it?" His eyes grew wide further emphasizing how he felt about being worried over.

Yumi shrugged her shoulders. "Alright fine, I was just wanting to make sure is all." She put her hand over his as they rested against the bench. "What are we gonna tell the others? I mean, Odd has been pooling this for months now. Aelita isn't going to have any idea what this is, and Jeremie… well he'll just be Jeremie." She leaned her head against his shoulder. _I can't believe this is happening! I finally have a date with the boy of my dreams! _

Ulrich wrapped his arm around her, joining his head against hers. "We'll worry about that when it comes to it. For now, all I can think about is how much I'm gonna need to pack for our camping trip, assuming XANA doesn't try anything foolish." He looked down at his shoes, kicking a rock to the side of the road. "Damn AI nearly kills us all and he thinks he deserves to rule the world…" Ulrich started to seethe and grind his teeth. "News flash for him, Stalin and Hitler already tried, and failed. He'll fall just as hard if not harder."

Yumi noticed his expression change from one of happiness to pure anger in a matter of seconds. "Ulrich, what brought this on?" She asked as she sat up from his embrace.

"Don't tell me you're not sick of everything we're doing. All this work for only getting one step closer?" He looked at her with a confused face. "You mean to tell me that after everything we've been through, you aren't even the least bit tired of 'going to Lyoko, coming back to school, going to Lyoko, and then coming back to school'. I'm starting to get really tired of this routine we have going." He stopped to gather his thoughts. "Don't get me wrong, all of this brought me to you, but I wish that all our efforts actually lead to something." He didn't notice how hard his grip had become until Yumi winced in pain.

"Ulrich, you're actually hurting me." She said as she released her hand from his death grip. Rubbing the area that became sore, she kept her thoughts going, "I understand that you want it to be over, believe me I do too. I wish we could just turn off the Supercomputer and be done with all of this." She stopped to look him in the eye. "But we have a dear friend that is still tied to XANA, and she will be until Jeremie figures out an Anti-Virus that frees her." She looked at his face, feeling better that he calmed down.

Ulrich looked at his hand, not even knowing what he had done. "I'm sorry Yumi, I don't even know why I started thinking of that." He shook his head while rubbing his temples. He needed to shower and get something to eat and clear his head. "This weekend, we're definitely going camping." He looked at Yumi again, with the sly smirk he had earlier. "And you'll enjoy every minute of it, because I know I will. Now if you'll excuse me, I think a shower will help clear my head." He kissed Yumi on the cheek, got up and walked towards the school grounds, leaving a scarlet Yumi behind.

_Just what in the hell has gotten into him?_

* * *

Later that night, Aelita was waiting by the pillars that made up the archways of Kadic Academy. Jeremie had not shown up yet for their date and she began to worry that it was all for naught. She picked out this maroon blouse fitted with dark blue jeans. She picked her phone out of her pocket, checking for any messages that hey may have left her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no missed calls or texts. _Looks like this has been all for nothing. Damnit Jeremie, just when I thought we were going to take the next step in our friendship. _

A tap on the shoulder caused Aelita to spin fast, almost knocking her hand in Jeremie's face. He quickly caught it, staring straight in her eyes. "Sorry I'm a little late. The Supercomputer is just being slow at its job of decrypting everything." He said in a smooth register. "Now, if I'm not mistake, we have a date tonight, and I'll be damned if I let a pretty lady like yourself go without her man." He winked at her as he held out his arm.

This made Aelita's heart flutter, the smooth tone of his voice was unlike anything she had heard over their conversations when she was still on Lyoko. This was going to be an interesting date for sure. "Um, Jeremie, why are you holding out your arm? Is something the matter?"

Jeremie laughed at her question. _Of course, this is all so new to her. _"It's a custom when people are on a date that the woman wrap her hand around the man's arm."

"Kind of like this?" Aelita asked as she attempted the gesture that Jeremie had described.

"Yes, exactly."

Aelita smiled as her first attempt had been correct. Another Earth custom became familiar to her as they started their walk to the movies. She had done some research on the Star Wars universe and what it held in store for when she would be first exposed to the movie. "Jeremie, I've done some reading on 'Star Wars' and I'm wondering, why does Anakin turn to the Dark Side? If he's supposed to be this chosen Jedi that is to bring Balance to the Force, why is it that he needs to join… the Sith?" She asked, unsure of the name of the villain order.

Jeremie felt his mind flood with happiness. He could have conversations about one of his favorite movie franchises. "Well, that's why they made this movie. To tell exactly why Anakin does what he does to become Darth Vader." Jeremie answered, then remembering how unsure Aelita sounded about the Sith. "And you were correct, the evil group in these movies is known as the Sith." He looked around, crossing the street while picking Aelita up into a piggy back position.

This behavior stunned Aelita, what in the world was going on? Why was Jeremie acting so strange? "Um… Jeremie what brought that on?" She asked as he put her down.

"Can't I treat my princess like an actual princess?"

"I guess you can, this once." She said with a wink as she put her hand around his arm once again. Arriving at the movie theater, she was surprised that it wasn't as packed as she thought it would be. "Um, I hope we can get tickets to this."

"Don't worry, I have a way with these people." Jeremie walked up the counter, pulling out a 20 Euro bill. "Find us some tickets for Revenge of the Sith, best seats in the house if you catch my meaning." He said as he pushed the bill under the window that separated him from the cashier. "Keep the change, hot legs." Jeremie eyed the cashier's leggings and choice of shoes, smirking.

The cashier looked stunned but quickly found her voice. "Of course, sir, two tickets for Revenge of the Sith coming up." She presented the tickets to Jeremie, who then walked back to his date.

"Told you I have a way with these people." He took her hand and walked into the theater. "You have any other questions before we go into this movie?"

Aelita looked up at her boyfriend, trying to remember the question that she wanted to ask him. "I'm wondering, why do you think Anakin turns? What are your expectations?"

Jeremie pondered over her question, walking her down the hallway and into the hall that contained the giant screen for the showing of the movie. "I guess it would have to be that anyone who does bad believes they are doing good. All Anakin wants to do is save the ones he cares about, and I think he'd be willing to go to any lengths to not only do that but protect his ideals." Jeremie explained as he looked down at his shoes. The black substance that had been there had disappeared. However, it had only moved to underneath his shoe, becoming part of the sole.

Aelita and Jeremie sat down in the middle of the theater, their seats reclined and ready for relaxation as the final Star Wars movie played before them.

* * *

After the movie, Jeremie had walked Aelita back to her dorm room and was proceeding to his own, ready for bed. Something about the movie however jarred his mind. "Anakin is more like any real human. I can't say that I would be noble like Obi-Wan. What if Aelita had been in that kind of danger? Would I take the high road and wait? Or would I rush into things?" He kept talking to himself as he opened his door, taking off his shoes and day clothes. Readying himself in his pajamas, he quickly got under the covers and started to dream.

The black substance that had found itself on his shoes however, started to move out. Slithering onto the floor, it noticed that Jeremie had fallen asleep. Good, this would make it easier to begin the process. It slithered closer, rising over the drawers that made his bedframe. Lurching up into a claw position, it started to attach itself to Jeremie's hand, and moved upwards.

Jeremie's dream soon started to turn into a nightmare. He saw Aelita, dying at the hands of the Scyphozoa on Lyoko. Her memories were drained, her body lifeless before him. His physical form grabbed the bed, squeezing the covers as his grip tightened. _No! I won't let you take her from me XANA! _He couldn't let his one true love be taken away by some monster.

The black substance kept moving across Jeremie, forming itself to the boy's dimensions, and taking the shape of his Lyoko outfit, just as it had done before. Forming up the chest, it noticed that Jeremie had woken up from his nightmare with a loud scream. The black substance quickly finished the process of forming before Jeremie was out cold once again. Where it would take the boy was up to it, as no one would be awake, and the world needed some cleansing of poor souls who would do harm to his beloved Aelita. With that, Jeremie lurched up from his bed, opened the window, and proceeded to jump out to the ground below.


	4. Chapter 4

Odd woke up in the forest, dressed in the jet-black version of his Lyoko garb, sans the cat hands. In their place were mountable wrist shooters for his laser arrows. Of course, this wasn't what freaked him out the most. What did, was the fact that he was in the forest at all, Lyoko gear or not. He looked around, getting up from his position to find Jeremie and Ulrich in the same boat. Both were dressed in their Lyoko garb, clad in black. _Is this some weird holiday prank that Sissi is playing on us? Cause I'm not laughing._ He went over to Jeremie's position and gently shook him. "Jeremie, wake up. Come on, this is no time for dreaming of Aelita!"

Jeremie's form nestled at the mention of Aelita's name, only to be violently shaken awake by Odd. His eyes shot open as he kicked Odd in the stomach in self-defense. "Oh, sorry Odd. I guess I thought you were someone else. Though who, I don't know." He looked over himself, his breathing becoming more erratic as he confirmed his thoughts. _Lyoko garb, jet black… what in the hell is going on. _"I can see I'm not the only that's being freaked out." Jeremie looked around the forest, noting the full moon being their only source of light. "Maybe we should get to the factory to check if XANA has launched an attack."

Ulrich woke up, his body shifting upwards as he pushed the ground away from him. Looking over his body, his mind raced with questions as to why he was in the forest in his Lyoko garb, and why it was black instead of the usual yellow. He brought his gaze up to Jeremie and Odd, both looking at Ulrich like he was possessed by XANA. "You guys too?!" Ulrich took a step back, drawing his saber for self-defense.

"Relax Ulrich, it's us: Odd and Jeremie." Jeremie said, trying to calm the swordsman's nerves. "We're just as freaked out as you are." Jeremie stepped closer to Ulrich, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You can put your sword away, I promise we're not going to hurt you, my friend."

Ulrich put his weapon away, sheathing it slowly. "Sorry guys, I guess I'm a little jumpy given our situation." He and the other two began to walk towards the sewer. "I take it our plan is to go to the factory?"

Odd smiled his usual charismatic smile. "Of course it is, good buddy."

* * *

Jeremie pulled the manhole lid off the ground with ease and tossed it away like it was made of paper. "Uh… that was unique. That manhole cover usually weighs a good amount for me to lift."

Ulrich stood stunned. "You've never been good at sports, or lifting weights, or any physical activity for that matter." That was true, Jeremie usually spent his time in front of his computer programming ways to make their fight with XANA more fruitful, and to be rid of the nasty AI once and for all.

Odd joined Jeremie as they climbed down. "Could have something to do with why we're in our Lyoko gear?"

Jeremie chimed in as he took his hands off the ladder supports. "Possibly, I feel as if I could run a marathon and not even break a sweat. Who wants to test that theory?" He sounded eager, unlike his usual self who detested anything physical.

Ulrich and Odd joined him in a track start as they raced towards the other end of the sewer. Odd pulled ahead, trying not to run on all fours as they jumped over the staircase in the middle. Jeremie's stride started to lengthen as he gave more and more power to his legs. Despite all the power he was giving them, he didn't feel tired at all. It was almost decided until Ulrich used his super sprint at the last second, securing victory.

"Well, I guess that's to be expected when you can run faster than the speed of sound!" Odd shouted as they climbed up the ladder to the factory bridge. Opening the cover, the three boys all stood up as they walked towards the entrance. "Jeremie, what was the last thing you remember before waking up in the forest."

Jeremie thought about this question for a bit. "I remember walking Aelita back from our date to her room. I said goodnight and then proceeded to my own room." He stopped as they approached the ropes. "You know… given our current situation, I don't think we need these." He said as the other two acknowledged his idea.

All three jumped from their vantage point to the factory floor. Not even a scratch was given to them as they stood back up. "Well that was fun. We should do that again sometime." Ulrich said as he walked into the empty elevator.

"Anyways, I got in bed and tried to go to sleep before I had a nightmare." Jeremie paused, the memory of the nightmare still fresh in his mind. "That nightmare… and then I woke up the forest."

Odd looked at Jeremie, perplexed by the boy's story. "Well, I had something similar. I walked Sasha out of the cafeteria from dinner. We talked for a bit before saying our goodnights. I then went to bed and that was it. Next thing I know I'm in the forest and with a black version of my Lyoko outfit."

Ulrich nodded. "Same details, except replace Sasha with Yumi. On the plus side I finally asked her out." The other two looked at Ulrich with blank stares. "What?!"

Jeremie blinked as the elevator came to a halt at the super computer. "It's just that… you've always said that you and Yumi were 'just good friends'" He said in a mocking voice. Odd laughed at Jeremie's sly remark of their friend.

Ulrich waved his fist. "Watch it, Belpois, or Aelita will have to bandage up that pretty little nose of yours."

"I dare you to say that again!" Jeremie put up his hands to ready his shield, but instead of a shield, a yellow orb of energy was shot out and made a mark on the elevator's roof.

Odd's eyes were wide with confusion. "Uh… what the hell was that?"

"Okay, that's it. Calling the girls." Ulrich went to his pocket only to remember it wasn't there. "Aw damnit. I just remembered, no pockets." Suddenly, Ulrich's outfit shifted to his regular clothes, though his pants were black instead of their usual dark green. "Woah… that's convenient. Wonder if my phones in the pocket now." He dug through is pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "This is officially the coolest thing I have ever seen." Ulrich said as he started to dial Yumi's number.

Odd joined Jeremie at the Supercomputer. "Alright, does that happen for us? Cause I really want to go back to my old clothes now!" Just as Odd yelled those words, the feline warrior's garb changed to his usual attire, save for his inside shirt now being black. "That's more like it. I feel much better in my old stuff."

Jeremie laughed at Odd's comment. "Technically, that's not your old stuff, but I digress. Come to think of it, I'd rather be back in my old stuff as well." Jeremie's wish was granted, and now he had a black shirt and black shoes to replace his blue clothes. "Let me just call Aelita and see if they'll come by." Jeremie picked up the headset and dialed Aelita's number, hoping that she would hear the vibration of her phone.

Odd walked to Ulrich, who put his phone away. "Yumi's on her way. Though I'd be careful mentioning this stuff to the girls. They may not take it lightly. But for that matter, who cares what they think? We just struck gold mine in terms of power ups." Ulrich said as he joined Odd, standing in the elevator.

"Aelita is also on her way, though if XANA activates a tower, I don't want to wait and see what he has in store for the Earth." Jeremie said as the super scan activated. "What did I tell you?! Damn AI can't give us a break." Jeremie typed on the keyboard, localizing the tower that was activated. "Forest region, not too far. Alright, whose ready to give these suits a real test drive." He smirked with an evil grin as he started up a delayed virtualization program.

Odd and Ulrich returned his smirk. "Lyoko, here we come."

They arrived in the scanner room and each got in a cabin. Ulrich instantly thought of the girls. "Shouldn't we have waited for the girls to get here?"

Jeremie shook his head. "Who cares right now? I just want to make XANA pay for always ruining our lives. This time he'll get what's coming to him." There was venom laced with his speech as the cabin doors closed and the virtualization had begun. Soon the three warriors were on Lyoko, their gear clad in black as to be expected. The forest sector shined with brilliance, if brilliance could exist on Lyoko. The trees had no leaves, or roots. The ground had no grass, just rocks placed in random locations. The world was for all intents and purposes, dead. But it was the conduit for XANA to attack Earth, and the Lyoko warriors soon adopted Lyoko as their second home. Jeremie looked up as Krabs approached the three. "Time to test these little energy blasts of mine." He charged his hands as orbs filled their positions. The yellow energy was blinding to Ulrich and Odd as Jeremie launched them towards their enemies. Instantly they were destroyed and disintegrated back to regular pixels.

Odd smiled as the monsters turned to dust. "I wonder what upgrades I have. Come on XANA, send me some party guests. I'm waiting!"

As if on cue, XANA sent Odd some tarantulas to act as fodder for the feline warrior. "Perfect, they'll make great target practice." Odd seethed as he launched his laser arrow to the side of a tree. The arrow lurched around and veered towards Jeremie before rebounding towards the tarantulas. Striking the eye of XANA, the filthy monster was destroyed and Odd was pleased with himself. "Homing arrows. Very nice, Ulrich, you can have this one. It already bores me."

"With pleasure." Ulrich got into position as he unsheathed his katana. The blade glowed with blue energy as he charged his attack. Swinging to the right, he unleashed the charged energy with a force that knocked a few rocks out of place. The monster stood no chance and was instantly cut in half. "This will be almost too easy. I want more monsters to defeat."

"I don't think that will be an issue. Look up ahead men." Jeremie pointed towards the tower as XANA materialized new beings for them to fight. The beings morphed into Aelita, Yumi, and Sasha, except their skin was gray, clothes black and orange and the eyes of XANA were replacing their regular pupils.

Jeremie felt a wave of anger hit him. The nightmare came rushing back into his mind. _You think you've won this round?! I will show you what for XANA! _"Let's go. We'll end this here and now!" Jeremie started to charge up energy blasts as Ulrich charged his saber. Odd joined his two friends and cocked his wrist with his laser arrows.

Ulrich smirked as the three polymorphic clones charged them. "This is something else. Finally, we can see who is stronger." He unleashed his charged attack and ran after Yumi's clone. The two of them dug into the ground as they threw attacks back and forth, neither one giving ground.

Jeremie stood as Aelita's clone walked towards him. "I promised to protect you. I told you I would keep you safe. But now, all I can think about is bringing XANA to his end. It's time to pay XANA!" Jeremie released his energy blasts, the clone jumping to avoid them as she charged her own. "What?! That's not right!" Jeremie yelled as he thought of a quick way to dodge the clone's attacks. _This clone is definitely one of XANA's finest. But I'll show her!_

Odd saw Sasha move towards him like a ninja. She disappeared only to reappear seconds later in different spots. The grace she used was unmatched, and her weapons were sure to end his short career as the black feline warrior. "Good thing I have homing darts, otherwise this would be a sticky situation." Odd launched his arrows as they homed in on his desired target. Sasha deflected most of them, but a lucky one pierced her eye as he moved in for the killing blow. "Good riddance, you untalented recall!" Odd screamed, though his words weren't aimed at the clone. For reasons unknown to even himself, his words were for the person the clone originated. Sasha Harrison, the girl Odd was starting to fall in love with. Why had he said these words? Did he absolutely mean them? The scary part to him, was that he didn't care.


	5. Chapter 5

Yumi shuffled in her bed. The calming embrace of sleep was so welcoming that she at first didn't hear her phone vibrate. She tossed and turned, hoping the vibration was just a dream or a nightmare starting to form. But the vibration would not stop, and with each ring it kept getting louder and louder. Finally, she relented and answered the bloody phone. _This better be important…_, "Ulrich, do you have any idea what time it is?! I'm trying to get some much-needed sleep!" She yelled quietly, hoping her parents and brother couldn't hear her.

"Well for your information, sweet cheeks, something weird is up with Jeremie, Odd, and me. We woke up in the forest in this black stuff that resembled our Lyoko gear." Ulrich said over the phone, annoyed at Yumi's attitude.

"Sweet cheeks? You are definitely barking up the tree, aren't you?" Yumi replied, taken aback by Ulrich's comment. "Want me to come to the factory? I hope it's not going to interfere with our camping trip. I already managed to convince my parents of the details and they agreed with it 100%." She finished as she sat up, rubbing the sand out of her eyes and gathering her clothes.

"If you wouldn't mind, that'd be great. And I can't wait for our camping trip, just as long as you get your ass here and now." With that, Ulrich hung up the phone. _Okay… what has gotten into him? Maybe whatever happened on Lyoko is starting to rear its ugly head. _Yumi slipped her pants on as she put her phone in her pocket, grabbing her bike key as she slid her shirt over her arms. Opening the window, Yumi quickly stepped outside and slid down from the shingles that decorated the roof of the Ishiyama residence.

"So far so good, now just need to make it to the bike."

Yumi tip toed to the garage area, finding her black bike ready for the taking. "Let's see how fast I can peddle this thing!" She unlocked the bike from its chain and immediately started riding towards the factory, taking care to avoid busy roads and alleyways that looked overtly suspicious. _If Ulrich is in trouble, I need to act. Time for me to stop being the one who always needs to be saved from the Digital Sea._

* * *

Aelita sat in her bed, dreaming of her date with Jeremie. That night had been of the greatest she had ever felt since coming to Earth. Jeremie sure did know how to treat a girl, even if he himself was a little socially awkward. He had made sure they had plenty of snacks, nice seats, even got her a nice gift on the way home. She had repaid everything he'd done with a kiss on his cheek. _Next time I must do more._ She thought to herself as the dream progressed to the actual movie. Suddenly, her stupor was interrupted by a vibration. _Who in the heck would be calling me at this hour? _Aelita looked down to her phone, the caller ID having Jeremie's number being displayed. _Jeremie, the boy sure does know when to call doesn't he? _"Jeremie? What's going on?" Aelita asked, trying to cover her yawn.

"Hey Aelita, something's come up at the factory. Ulrich, Odd and I woke up in the forest just a moment ago and now we're at the factory." Jeremie said over the line, sounding a little agitated from their date just hours earlier.

"Okay Jeremie, I'll be there in a jiff. Just let me get my clothes on."

"Please hurry. XANA may decide to launch an attack." Jeremie hung up immediately.

Aelita sighed. So much for a good night of well-deserved sleep. XANA couldn't let them rest for even a moment. She got a pair of maroon pants out of her closet and a black hoodie. Sure, it wasn't glamorous, but it would do for a quick trip to the factory. _I hope the boys are okay. I knew there was something wrong when we got back from Lyoko. But why didn't the Supercomputer pick it up? _She tip-toed out the door through the staircase, hoping not to wake up Jim. _Come on Aelita, just a little farther and you'll be in the courtyard. _She got through the staircase and creaked open the door leading to the courtyard of the school. The coast seemed clear, and she knew it was time to book it. She threw the door open and ran as fast as she could towards the forest. Jeremie needed her and she would always be there to help him, just as he was always there for her. But her actions didn't go unnoticed…

* * *

Yumi arrived at the factory to notice Aelita crawling out of the sewer. She stopped her pedaling and immediately jumped off her bike. "Hey princess! I take it the boys called you too?"

The pink haired girl looked up her Japanese friend. "Yup. Jeremie called me saying he woke up in the forest with Ulrich and Odd. I wonder what in the hell is going on. Could it be from that creeper we saw on Sector five?"

The two girls walked across the bridge, the moonlight glistening off the water and providing the only light the duo needed to reach the factory. "I'm not sure. Ulrich acted strange when we were in the park, but I thought it was just because he finally let his emotions free and confessed his feelings for me." Yumi just realized what she had said and already Aelita had commenced her laughing fit. "Hey! I'm proud of him for finally asking me out. Took him long enough."

Aelita just kept laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her breath became denser as her laughter took up the air she needed to breathe. "I can just see it now. 'Oh Yumi, I've always wanted to tell you how much I love you'" She mocked with kissing noises as Yumi's cheeks became a shade of crimson. The girls slid down the ropes that led to the floor and entered the elevator.

"I wonder what could have actually happened to where the boys woke up in the forest." Aelita broke the silence as the elevator came to a stop at the control room. To their surprise, no one was there. The boys were no where to be seen, and the Supercomputer looked to have been used recently. "Jeremie! Are you here?" Aelita yelled, echoing in the control room.

Yumi walked towards the monitor. "Aelita, here! Look at the map." She pointed towards the virtual map, showing Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich moving through the forest sector battling some of XANAs enemies. "Did they virtualize themselves without us? That can only mean one thing: XANA."

Aelita sat down in the command chair. "Jeremie, do you hear me? What in the world are you doing?! You should have waited for us." Aelita then typed away at the keyboard, looking for where XANA had activated a tower. Surprisingly, she noticed that the tower was being guarded by Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd. Could this be XANA's attack? Take over their friends as his slaves? She wasn't going to find out. Her friends needed them. "Come on Yumi, we can't do much else here." Aelita started up the delayed virtualization program for herself and Yumi.

Yumi followed Aelita down to the scanner room and got in their respective cabins. "Let's do this." The doors closed and the virtualization had begun. Wind filled the cabin as their bodies floated above the ground. Finally, the wind picked up and their bodies became pixels as they were transported to Lyoko.

* * *

On Lyoko, Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich had defeated XANA's clones, leaving only the miniscule bloks and kankerlats to protect the tower. "Hey guys, apparently we should have waited for the girls to get here. I think they're jealous they didn't get to have all the fun with us." Jeremie laughed at his own remark. Odd joined in on the remark.

"I bet they wish they could've seen us in action."

Ulrich smiled as Yumi and Aelita came into view in the forest region. "Boys, we got company. Girls at 12 O clock." Ulrich sheathed his sword as he stood guard of the tower. "Well hello ladies. Took you long enough." He crossed his arms the girls approached.

Yumi looked up at Ulrich, "We got here as fast as we could, Ulrich. You can't blame us for being human."

Odd looked at the Japanese girl, his eyes squinting with anger. "Oh, come on, Jeremie, Ulrich, and I wake up in the forest and all you can say is 'don't blame us for being human.' If we hadn't been here to defend the tower, who knows what XANA could have done."

Aelita walked up to Jeremie, who had his arms crossed and was leaning against the cable. "Jeremie, what's going on? Do you feel any different?" She asked, her walk slowing down.

Jeremie looked up to her. "Well, the fact that I can do this must definitely say something." Sarcasm was laced in his voice as he demonstrated his new ability to Aelita. "Energy blasts if I do say so myself. Come on, we need to deactivate the tower." He finished coldly as he went with Ulrich and Odd to destroy the last of XANA's forces in the Forest region.

Aelita just stared at Jeremie as he walked down from the steps, his hands glowing yellow. The light contrasted the black sheen of his Lyoko form. _Jeremie… what's happened to you? _Aelita then made her way inside the tower. The data streams inside lit up as she proceeded onto the platform. Rising with the light of data glowing around her, she landed on the upper level as a data screen appeared before. The process at this point was all to familiar, she placed her hand on the screen as her name appeared before her. Next, the screen asked for a code. Typing out Lyoko, the tower was deactivated and XANA's attack on Earth had failed. "Tower deactivated" was all that she had said as she descended from the upper platform.

Jeremie looked up as the tower, smiling as the red aura turned blue. _That's my girl, doing it all over again. _He was proud of her and was happy that they had managed to end a XANA attack so quickly. "Time to go home guys." He said as he managed to link up with the Supercomputer to start the materialization process. All their bodies pixelated and faded away as they were brought back to Earth. Jeremie, Odd, and Ulrich arrived first, followed by Yumi. Jeremie made his way to the control room and started up Code: Earth for Aelita's materialization. "I'd say that was a job well done don't you think?"

Aelita and the others joined him in the control room. "Jeremie, something is going on. When did you even get that black shirt?! You've never once mentioned that you like black clothing."

Yumi noticed the same thing on Ulrich and Odd. "Aelita, these two have it as well. Look at their pants." She pointed at the articles of clothing as the boys shifted to the side of the elevator.

Ulrich sighed, putting his hands in his pocket. "Come on, Yumi. What can I say? Your style rubbed off on me."

Odd shrugged his shoulders before putting his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I've always wanted to get away from purple anyway."

Jeremie got out of the command chair as he took Aelita's hand in his. "Aelita, trust me on this. I'm just edgy to defeat XANA and find your anti-virus. That's all I want. I've been meaning to experiment with different clothes to try and look better for you." His cheeks blushed red. "And I heard that… some girls like their guys in black."

Aelita's cheeks returned the blush, as she smiled at the through of Jeremie in a black suit and tie. The girls would try to be all over him, but she wouldn't let anyone of them near him. He was hers and she would mark her territory. "Well, okay then. I believe you."

Jeremie smiled, "Good, now let's go home shall we? It's just after midnight so we can still get some sleep in." The group got in the elevator and rode back up to the factory floor to continue their journey back to the academy. Yumi parted ways with them after reaching the gate, but not before embracing Ulrich and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Ulrich's cheeks flushed with red as he returned her kiss. Odd stood there and started to make gaging noises to get them to stop. This was all before Yumi decided to smack him on the head.

"All right I get it!"

The remaining four members all tip toed back into the dorms as Aelita went up the stairs towards her hallway. "Goodnight Jeremie, see you tomorrow." She blew a kiss his direction as he made a hand motion, acting like he caught it. This caused her to smile even more as she went back to her bed for some more well-deserved sleep.

The boys however, were met with Jim, who was doing his nightly patrols. "Stern! Belpois! Della Robbia! What do you think you're doing out of your rooms at this time of night?!" He yelled at the three boys, waving his flashlight around.

Jeremie took charge. "Come on Jim. We just needed to use the bathroom. Let us go back to our rooms and it will never happen again."

Jim was not having it this time. "You have got to be kidding me. You expect me to believe this crap?! You're gonna be paying the principal a nice little visit tomorrow."

Ulrich had enough of what Jim was doing, tired of his 'bullying'. "You can go back to your room and forget this whole thing happened, Jim."

Jim stood perplexed. "You think you can order me around? I'm an adult and you're a bunch of snot nosed brats."

Odd grabbed Jim's shirt. "You'll get more than this if you don't let us go, you overweight blob of grease!" He then shoved Jim to the side of the hallway, slamming him against the wall.

Jeremie and Ulrich stood before him. Jim looked at them. "Give me a hand boys, please."

"You'll get our help when you fix your damn attitude!" Jeremie yelled, the words ringing in Jim's ears as he sat there, the boys heading into their rooms.

Jeremie slammed his door shut, and closed the window that had been left open, he assumed, when he had woken up from his nightmare. He looked at himself in the reflection, his skin was paler than usual. He rubbed his shirt, feeling something emanating from the clothing. Something sinister… hungry… primal. He looked at himself again, his visage replaced with that of a monster. He didn't like what he saw, and quickly removed the shirt. Placing it below his bed, he stepped back, already feeling much lighter. What in the hell happened to him on Lyoko? He only hoped that Ulrich and Odd had done the same. _It provides power, but at what cost…_


End file.
